Corn Potatos, Awaaaaaaaayyy!!
I’m a Tumbling Bone, I’m a Corn Potato, I’m Aaron Jonah Lewis.
I’m sitting in the kitchen of my friend Joe’s house in London and the soundscape here features many little bubbling and gurgling sounds. These sounds are coming from the many containers of homemade wine, cider, beer and spirits that he is preparing for the Fire In The Mountain festival coming up weekend after next in Wales. Of course I will be there with the Corn Potato String Band. We release our new album on the 31st! (In case you’ve been wondering how to get a copy if you can’t make it to a show, the answer is: Wait until the 31st and then visit http://cdbaby.com/cd/
The tour with Tumbling Bones tour was so wonderful and so full of new adventures, new friends and visits with old friends, I know I can’t even begin to tell all the stories here. All the shows were great, all the people who helped us out on the way were so kind and so much fun, I can’t believe it’s over after only six or seven weeks! But time goes by fast when your days are packed full of new experiences. There’s no time to be bored when you’re constantly learning and facing unpredictable situations. It’s a challenge and a thrill, and when you’re with the right group of people it’s an absolute pleasure. I’m looking forward to working with Tumbling Bones again in the future. Since we won a spot with the U.S. State Department’s American Music Abroad program I know that we will do a significant tour in some far off place some time in the coming year, although I have yet to learn when or where…
I have to list at least a few highlights from the tour. I played golf for the first time in my life with Chris, the landlord ofMannion’s in Balla. It was a beautiful day and the best thing to do, I loved it and never thought I would ever want to play golf in my life. I visited one of the Arran Islands for the first time. I stayed on the grounds of a 14th-century hall in Norfolk with walled gardens, pheasants and swans, topiary and a real, genuine MOAT. I’m not kidding. I had a very short but very sweet visit in Berlin and got to see lots of friends and play with them at a jam in Manouche and play with Tumbling Bones at my favorite bar in the world, Room 77. I rode back to the hotel after the bluegrass festival in Bühl in the back of a John Deere Gator. I ate incredible food some of the time. Most of the time, really. I climbed a mountain at the side of the road between Lisdoonvarna and Galway and I saw wild horses. I climbed another mountain a different day and saw the cairn over Queen Maeve’s tomb. I stood behind the bar in Wingham, Kent, late at night after closing time and poured pints of real ale and partied with the landlady and her kids and their friends. And I got to see my dear cousins at the Square and Compass in Dorset! So many great memories… I won’t bore you with them all. Unfortunately I didn’t keep a tour journal this time or even send many postcards, but if you want you can read the journal from my trip to India here!
I started reading a book about the Druids but haven’t learned much about them yet, except that not much is known about them. I also picked up a book of short stories by Saki, but my reading time has been diminished since I’m doing more driving these days and less sitting in the back. Oh, hey, before I forget here’s a video of me playing with Tumbling Bones at the bluegrass festival in Bühl! I haven’t watched it yet but it’s probably pretty good.
And before I bore you to tears, here are all the upcoming dates in the UK and in Ireland — I plan to write at least one more email while I’m on the road and send you the dates we’ll play in Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland.
The dates:
UK
Fri 23 May – House Concert, Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes, England – SOLD OUT
Sun 25 May – Three Horseshoes, Towersey, Oxfordshire, England
For tickets visit http://www.wegottickets.com/
Wed 28 May – Square & Compass, Worth Matravers, Swanage, Dorset, England
– 01929 439229
Thur 29 May – Stag & Hounds, Bristol, England – 0117 329 2141
Fri/Sat 30 May-1 June – Fire In The Mountain Festival, Cwmnewidion Isaf,
Cnwch Coch, Aberystwyth, Wales – For tickets:
Tue 3 June – Burnetts Hill Chapel, Pembrokeshire, Wales – 01646 621530
Wed 4 June – What’s Cookin, Leytonstone, London, England
Thur 5 June – Cumberland Arms, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England – 191 265 1725
Sat 7 June – Craighouse, Isle of Jura, Scotland
Sun 8 June – Craigmore Bowling Club, Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Scotland
For tickets call 07720744205
Tue 10 June – House Concert, Edinburgh, Scotland
For tickets email [email protected]
Wed 11 June – Smailholm Village Hall, Smailholm, Roxburghshire, Scotland
For tickets call 01573 460666
IRELAND
Fri-Sat 13-14 June – Westport Folk & Bluegrass Festival – Westport, Co. Mayo
For tickets: http://
Sun 15 June – Glens Centre – Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim
For tickets call 071 9855833 or visit theglenscentre.com
Tue 17 June – Red Room – Cookstown, Co. Tyrone
For tickets call +44 7747 120659
Wed 18 June – McCann’s, Omagh, Co. Tyrone +44 28 8224 8900
Fri 20 June – Open House Festival, Belfast
For tickets visit www.openhousefestival.com/
Sat 21 June – JJ Harlow’s, Roscommon, Co. Roscommon
Sun 22 June – Ballykeeffe Amphitheatre, Kilmanagh, Co. Kilkenny
For tickets visit http://ticketmaster.
Sun 22 June – Roadside Tavern, Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare
Thur 26 June – Monroe’s, Galway – For tickets visit http://www.monroes.ie/
Fri 27 June – The Source Arts Centre, Thurles, Co. Tipperary
For tickets call 0504 90204 or visit www.thesourceartscentre.ie
Sat 28 June – Seamus Ennis Cultural Centre, Naul, Co. Dublin
For tickets call +353 (0)1 802 0898
Please help us spread the word about our shows, send your friends out if they live nearby, bring them with if you live nearby, and by all means come and say hello after the show!
I must end it here and bid you all a fond adieu. Until next time, I remain,
Yours Faithfully,
Aaron